Ivanka Trump: My Dad Dotes on Arabella ‘All the Time’

He can manage an empire and bring the heat to the board room, but when it comes to diaper duty, Ivanka Trump says dad Donald doesn’t have a clue.

The mogul millionaire plays the role of doting grandfather to 20-month-oldArabella Rose well — with his daughter on standby.

“He takes her all the time — but with me. He wouldn’t know what to do if she was crying or needed a diaper change,” Ivanka, 31, tells Redbook in their May issue.

However, judging from her own childhood, the fashion designer is confident her famous father would be willing to step up to the plate in a pinch.

“I think he’d figure it out. He was always a great father in that he was always there,” she says.

And now that she has joined Donald in the business, Ivanka shares that the atmosphere in the office has become a true family affair.

“Now that my brothers and I work with him, we’ve become even closer,” she explains. “If we talked a lot before, we speak 50 times a day now. I spend half the time in his office. It’s wild.”

Courtesy Redbook

Returning to work soon after welcoming her first child with husbandJared Kushner, Ivanka has since been busy balancing her professional and personal lives — a juggling act she wasn’t willing to compromise.

“Oh, every morning I’m so sad to leave Arabella,” she says. “But it’s important for me to continue what I’m doing. It’s fulfilling to me, and I think it makes me a better mom when I’m home.”

And while she may be categorized as a working mother, just don’t call her one!

“Incidentally, I hate the expression ‘working mom,’ because when I’m with Arabella on the weekends, I’m much more exhausted on Monday morning than I am on Friday night!” she says with a laugh.

“I think the expression ‘working’ versus ‘non-working’ implies that a mother who stays home doesn’t work. It’s far more difficult than anything I do in the office.”

A celebrity mom actually recognizing we all work and not down playing the other group or talking about how easy it is? Kudos to her. We all work hard, we all love our kids we all do what we have to do.

Marlena
on April 1st, 2013

I actually have respect for Ivanka Trump. Unlike Marissa Mayer, she can actually acknowledge that being a stay at home mom, or sometimes just being a mom is tough. She doesn’t sit there saying it’s easy–even though for her, it probably is easier b/c she’s got all the money in the world to hire nannies and what not to help. To me, she just managed to give a far more down to earth answer than anything Mayer has come up with so far.

happy
on April 1st, 2013

I really like her, highly intelligent woman. She seems well balanced.

jones
on April 1st, 2013

I really like Ivanka. She is very bright and seems very level-headed despite her non-ordinary upbringing.

Taylor Sheppard
on April 1st, 2013

As a stay home mom, she hit the nail on the head! We work just as hard if not harder to keep our family together, and with half the income! I have a new respect for Ivanka! Thanks for the props, lady!😉

pagoda
on April 1st, 2013

So nice to see she recognizes how hard it is to stay at home. I appauled her.

Dig
on April 1st, 2013

I have always admired her…brains and beauty

LAURA
on April 1st, 2013

Love her! She’ smart, beautiful, and works hard. Good luck to her wonderful family!

Mimi Dillinger
on April 1st, 2013

I will have to say, Donald Trumps greatest achievement is fatherhood. I always admired him for how seriously he took his job as a father and how he demanded his children be respectful, work, do well in school, not smoke or drink. Notice, NONE of his children are shallow and useless like the Kardashians, or Paris Hilton? Thanks to Donald Trump ALL his children are quality people. I respect and admire him for this.

Katia
on April 1st, 2013

I have always admired Ivanka, and now even more so. She is a wonderful role model for young girls, unlike most wealthy people’s spoiled, morally bankrupt, directionless offspring (the “K” clan, Paris Hilton, etc., ad nauseum.)

She is grounded, and she has not only beauty, but BRAINS, and CLASS! It’s refreshing. The Donald and Ivanka did something right!

Dea
on April 1st, 2013

I actually like the term “working mom” ,most of us after 8 hr of work go home to clean house, pay the bills, cook dinner, help kids with homework, take them play sports and visit their friends.

I don’t think Ivanka does any of the above, so she doesn’t understand the real working mom.

Jill
on April 1st, 2013

I also believe she has a payroll full of nannies and don’t fully feel the effect of taking care of kids. I wish she would stop trying to repair her daddy goofs after he run his ignorant mouth.

Britsi
on April 1st, 2013

Something has to be said for the Trump kids. They have all of the money in the world yet you do not see them in the news for getting DUIs, getting into wrecks,fighting in clubs, making sex tapes, in and out of court.

They actually work for a living. They are smart, family oriented, members of society. Ivanka is gorgeous yet you don’t see her with every piece of her skin showing. I think they are great role models.

self-employed
on April 1st, 2013

Say what you want about The Donald, his kids have all turned out great. No drug rehab, no fights, no jail time. They went to work for their dad, seem to be good at what they do, and more power to them. Great work ethic.

barbwilk
on April 1st, 2013

I’d like to know where she got that orange dress, it’s adorable

chloe
on April 1st, 2013

It is AMAZING how people can still be negative about this article– she acknowledges that being a mother is hardwork and harder than the work she does at the office and people still find something to be negative about- saying she doesn’t know what it means to be a working mom and that she has a bunch of nannies on payroll…

Seriously- Ivanka was born with a silver spoon in her mouth- yet she didn’t do a Paris Hilton. I don’t recall ever hearing her being arrested, having DUIs, going to rehab or anything many other celebs and socialites have done…. Rather she went to university, got a bachelor’s degree, graduated with honours, and established a career for herself. She got married and 2 years later had a child and is still married 4 years after the wedding.

She acknowledges the difficulty of motherhood and that it is work and doesn’t like the term working mom because it suggests only moms with an outside career work…

And yet- people can still criticize her, what does she need to do to satisfy people? You negative nancy’s need to eat a cookie

Shannon
on April 1st, 2013

As a mom who has done both…working and being a stay at home mom, she is absolutely correct! At work I felt like I was getting stuff done right away and moving on to the next project. Being at home is constant maintenance and it never ends.

It’s hard, but so worth it. I feel like my kids are only little once. I want to be here with them. I have the rest of my life to work or do other things once they’re grown.

gamelan
on April 1st, 2013

100% true…staying home mom worked twice harder than office work … thats what i experienced 30 yrs ago raising a son as a single working mom … soo relieved now and proud of my accomplishment..

Anonymous
on April 1st, 2013

Ivanka has it all… she is so articulate in her speaking, love to hear her talk! Besides that, she is also beautiful, well poised, smart and I just like her overall. Wonderful representation of her family.

I am even softening my thinking on her father! I never cared for him but I’m a fan of Celebrity Apprentice and the “Donald” is growing on me!

Teena
on April 1st, 2013

As much as I despise Donald Trump, I really like Ivanka. She seems well grounded. In contrast to Paris Hilton she has the looks and the brains.

sookie
on April 1st, 2013

She new just what answer would satisfy the public. In reality, the nannies are raising her daughter unnecessarily.

Lola
on April 1st, 2013

She’s beautiful with darker hair…not that she wasn’t always but it looks great on her. Sounds like a wonderful mom that gets it…….breath of fresh air.

Solène
on April 2nd, 2013

For everyone praising the Trumps, maybe Ivanka is a decent person, I can’t comment on that, but the sons are definitely not good kids. Not that it has anything to do with Donald, but their little safari hunting trips are just disgusting! They look so happy in those pictures, with the carcasses of their preys, I want to throw up just thinking about it!

Vicky
on April 2nd, 2013

I love this! Go Ivanka for keeping it real! Being at work is like a break for me compared to being at home with my daughter. I think the need to be both emotionally and mentally present at the same time is what is so tiring about parenting. But I love being a mommy and I love being a worker bee!

dsfg
on April 2nd, 2013

It’s great to read a celebrity interview where the celebrity doesn’t come across as egotistical. She sounds very normal. I agree with everything she says, except I wish we didn’t have to add gender to things. Why do we always have to say “working mom”? Why can’t we just say “working parent”? I just don’t think gender is relevant to what’s being discussed here.

Bkable
on April 3rd, 2013

I can respect her for saying being a mom is harder than going to work. But I really hate stay-at-home moms always saying “we work harder than if we were working” … No. You don’t. Because working moms still drive their kids to soccer, school, etc. do the dishes, cook, clean, and everything you do… we just don’t have the whole day to do it.

I respect Ivanka alot, I hope she is as great of a parent Donald appears to be